Causeur shines, Madrid downs Panathinaikos

Real Madrid registered a critical win in its race to reach the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs by defeating Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens 92-75 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Madrid improved to 15-10 in the standings and dropped Panathinaikos to 14-11. Fabien Causeur paced the winners with 26 points, Facu Campazzo added 15 and Walter Tavares had 14 plus 7 rebounds and 3 blocks for Madrid, which was without star guard Luka Doncic. Mike James led Panathinaikos with 23 points on 7-of-7 two-point shooting. K.C. Rivers added 12 points, Marcus Denmon had 11 and Nick Calathes 10 for the visitors. Madrid led 38-37 at halftime before Tavares, Campazzo and Causeur led a 10-0 run that boosted Madrid's lead to 56-42. James singlehandedly brought Panathinaikos within 64-55 after 30 minutes, but Felipe Reyes had 7 critical points early in the fourth quarter and an outstanding Causeur helped Madrid seal the outcome long before the final buzzer.

Tavares had a tip-in and jump hook in an 8-0 opening run, which Jeffery Taylor capped with a fast break dunk. Panathinaikos needed almost four minutes to find its first basket, but a jumper by Denmon ignited a 0-10 run in which KC Rivers and Calathes each hit a triple. Anthony Randolph dunked, but three-pointers by Rivers and Singleton gave the visitors a 10-16 lead. Rudy Fernandez hit a triple and Chasson Randle added a jumper only to see Singleton and Denmon each dunk for a 19-20 Panathinaikos lead after 10 minutes. Consecutive put-back layups by Adreian Payne and James Gist boosted the guests' lead to 21-25 early in the second quarter. Causeur stepped up with a layup and a three-pointer in a 7-0 run that restored a 29-25 Madrid lead. Rivers buried another three-pointer and James added an off-balance basket to make it 30-32. Causeur scored again and close baskets by Ayon and Tavares restored a Madrid lead. Denmon struck from downtown to fix the halftime score at 38-37.

Taylor followed free throws with a huge dunk soon after the break. Campazzo erased Denmon's jumper with a layup and Causeur added a fast break basket for a 46-39 Madrid margin. Rivers hit a triple, but Tavares, Campazzo and Causeur combined for all the points in a 10-0 run that broke the game open at 56-42. James hit a jumper and added a couple of layups and a three-pointer to bring Panathinaikos within 7. Campazzo and Ayon restored a 64-55 Madrid lead after 30 minutes. Fernandez stepped up for Madrid early in the fourth quarter and free throws by Ayon boosted the hosts' margin to 69-58. Reyes followed a three-point play with a put-back layup, but Kenny Gabriel nailed a triple and James added jumpers to give Panathinaikos hope at 75-67. However, Reyes scored again, Causeur added a driving layup and foul shots by Tavares boosted the hosts' margin to 81-69 with four minutes left. An unstoppable Causeur struck from downtown and added a layup that sealed the outcome at 86-71.

Head Coaches

LASO, PABLO

Real Madrid

"First of all, congratulations to the team for its win. I think we did a solid work for 40 minutes. We had a very good start, but had a lot of rebounding problems in the first half, not because they scored, but because we had the feeling we couldn't set the game rhythm we wanted. We improved that in the second half and once we rebounded, we had more control to run or stop, and I believe that was key to have the feeling of dominating the game. I am happy with the win and believe we did a good job; defensively, it was very, very good against a tough team with a lot of shooters. We have five games left and are still in the fight to make it to the EuroLeague playoffs. We have tough games ahead of us and must keep working to clinch that playoffs spot. I believe that it was not a season in which we could depend on anyone. We had a complicated season with my players going in and out, which is something the coach never wants. I always speak well about my players and their good mentality. They were able to keep working in difficult moments and in that sense, I am very happy to have the feeling that we are a team. That is what matters most for me. It is logical that you ask me about Fabien tonight, as he had a great game; we had a great first half against Fenerbahce, but was not as bright as tonight. In general terms, everyone did well tonight."

PASCUAL, XAVI

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens

"First of all, congratulations to Real Madrid for its win in a game in which it was the better team, especially in the second half. We did two unacceptable things tonight; our start of the game and our start of the third quarter. This is where we lost all of our chances to win. We managed to return to the game after our bad start. We didn't play well in the opening four, five minutes, but after that, we played quite well. We managed to control the boards, which is always a difficult thing to do here. We had our options to get the lead at halftime, it was a balanced game until now, but we threw all of our work away at the start of the third quarter. We trailed after that, by 9, 10 points. We didn't manage to play good defense and didn't deserve more. We have five games left to play and the most important thing for us is to get back to the playing level we had until January. All teams go through good and bad moments, but we have been in a bad moment since February and have not been able to find our way. We have to go back to our good level and then we will be a dangerous team for anybody."

Players

CAUSEUR, FABIEN

Real Madrid

"It was an important game against an opponent that was tied with us in the standings. We had a bad streak at home and wanted to fix this tonight. We played with a great attitude tonight and played a good game. We made mistakes, but not too many. We did well. I also wanted to bounce back after a couple of bad games last week. I found the confidence I needed to go out there and help my teammates. They helped me all week to get that confidence back and I played well today, so I am happy. We wanted to win and gave everything we had. We had strong starts in both halves, but got that 10-12-point lead in the second half which gave us the win in the end. We know our next opponents and the trips we will make - not too many. Each EuroLeague game is a like a final right now and we must win them all to be one of the four top teams at the end of the regular season. Every player likes a game like this, especially if your team wins. I played against one of my best friends, Mike James. We talked all week; he told me they would win, I didn't say anything and I will call him back in one hour!"

GIST, JAMES

Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens

"We play at the highest level of the EuroLeague and we cannot accept that. We cannot lose our concentration for three-to-five minutes. We did not follow our plan; we were not good offensively and played very bad at the beginning of the second half. Then we could not reach them. It's not the time to think about the playoffs right now. We have to think about the next game, what we will do as a team to change this image. I have been in Panathinaikos for many years and I know that it is somewhat disrespectful how we are now playing. This is not Panathinaikos… Coach Pascual was annoyed, as he had to be with us. We are unhappy. We should look in the mirror and see what each person can do individually to change the image. It's time to react. It's ugly."